Reviews: Nhttp://classic-horror.com/reviews/N
Classic-Horror.com's most recent movie reviewsenReview: The Ninth Gate (1999)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/ninth_gate_1999
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-17919" style="width: 142px;"><a href="/reviews/ninth_gate_1999"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/ninth_gate_poster.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Ninth Gate poster" title="Ninth Gate poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="142" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>Having
conjured up a vision from Hell in a New York brownstone apartment
house some thirty years previously, director Roman Polanski returned
to the diabolical fold with this, a loose adaptation of the novel <em>El
Club Dumas</em>
by Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte. And although the quiet,
precise trappings of the filmmaker's work remain intact in this old
curiosity, it is ultimately a film less interested in heralding the
coming of the Devil than one that sees fit to tell us that he's
been here the entire time.
</p><p>Dean
Corso (Johnny Depp) is a reptilian book dealer who cheats unwitting
people out of antiquated volumes worth thousands with as much ease as
lighting up one of his ever-handy cigarettes. There is no passion or
sense of duty in his task, only reward and gain. That's what makes
him an ideal candidate for the imposing collector Boris Balkan (Frank
Langella), a grave eccentric who owns a library of ancient texts
based solely around Satan.
</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/ninth_gate_1999" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/ninth_gate_1999#commentsTheatrical releaseSatanicFranceSpainUSATue, 03 Apr 2012 09:17:32 +0000Jose Cruz7722 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Night of the Living Dead (1990)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_living_dead_1990
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-17752" style="width: 138px;"><a href="/reviews/night_of_the_living_dead_1990"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/night-of-the-living-dead-1990.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Night of the Living Dead 1990 poster" title="Night of the Living Dead 1990 poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="138" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>It's
perfectly natural to want to cringe at the mere thought of a <em><a href="/reviews/night_of_the_living_dead_1968" title="Night of the Living Dead">Night
of the Living Dead</a></em>&nbsp;remake —&nbsp;one shot in full color no less —&nbsp;but
hear me out: Tom Savini's 1990 version of&nbsp;<em>Night of the Living Dead </em>does a
respectable job of reworking George Romero's 1968 classic to a fit
more modern archetype. Well-known for his make-up effects (on
films such as <em><a href="/reviews/friday_the_13th_1980" title="Friday the 13th">Friday the 13th</a></em><em>&nbsp;</em>and Romero's own <em><a href="/reviews/dawn_of_the_dead_1978" title="Dawn of the Dead">Dawn
of the Dead</a></em>), Savini
understandably leans toward a more visceral revision to the already
ghastly classic.</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_living_dead_1990" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_living_dead_1990#commentsTheatrical releaseRomero's Dead seriesSocial CommentarySurvival HorrorZombiesUSAMon, 07 Mar 2011 04:55:30 +0000John Dubrawa767 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Not of This Earth (1988)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/not_of_this_earth_1988
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-17668" style="width: 134px;"><a href="/reviews/not_of_this_earth_1988"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/not_of_this_earth_1988_poster.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Not of This Earth 1988 poster" title="Not of This Earth 1988 poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="134" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>The 1988 remake of
Roger Corman's 1957 <em>Not of This Earth</em> originated in a bet
that exploitation director Jim Wynorski made with horror legend
Corman. Wynorski bet that he could shoot the film in 12 days, a bet which he won.
While Wynorski surely scores points for efficiency, he nevertheless
delivers a film that is lacking in most respects. A cheaply made
film does not necessarily have to <em>look</em> as cheap as this one
does, and it appears that Wynorski sacrificed thought and imagination
to get the film completed in so quick a time. While it does have
occasional interesting, or at least titillating, moments, ultimately
this is a boring film that displays contempt for its story and its
audience as well.
</p><p></p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/not_of_this_earth_1988" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/not_of_this_earth_1988#commentsTheatrical releaseAliensScience FictionVampiresUSAMon, 29 Nov 2010 09:01:53 +0000Eric Miller17597 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmares_in_red_white_and_blue_2009
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-17365" style="width: 147px;"><a href="/reviews/nightmares_in_red_white_and_blue_2009"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/Nightmares_Poster2.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Nightmares in Red White and Blue poster" title="Nightmares in Red White and Blue poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="147" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>Horror is important. If you asked me to sum up the entire point of Classic-Horror.com, it would boil down to that. Horror is important. Horror matters. When done well (and sometimes when done poorly), horror reflects the unconscious group mind of its particular era and culture better than any other genre. Horror reaches into the dark place in all of us, pulls out truth, and forces us to look it straight in the eyes. Andrew Monument and Joseph Maddrey, the director and writer, respectively, of&nbsp;<em>Nightmares in Red, White and Blue</em>&nbsp;appear to agree with this sentiment. In this insanely informative and fascinating documentary, they draw lines between American history and American horror to show how eerily one tends to reflect the other.</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmares_in_red_white_and_blue_2009" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmares_in_red_white_and_blue_2009#commentsDocumentarySocial CommentaryUSAMon, 06 Sep 2010 09:51:33 +0000Nate Yapp17366 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Nightmare Castle (1965)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmare_castle_1965
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-15793" style="width: 149px;"><a href="/reviews/nightmare_castle_1965"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/nightmare_castle_poster_01.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Nightmare Castle poster" title="Nightmare Castle poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="149" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>When you look at the history of horror cinema, there are few
actors whose name is synonymous with an entire sub-genre. There's perhaps Boris
Karloff and the mad scientist film or Christopher Lee in the Dracula/vampire
realm. There's one actor who doesn't often get mentioned amongst the elite
group of horror icons, and that's Barbara Steele. With her exotic, striking
beauty and graceful physicality, she could move from playing icy villainess to
strong but vulnerable heroine with incredible ease. Steele's popularity reached
its peak in the 1960s with gothic chillers like <a href="/reviews/pit_and_the_pendulum_1961"><em>Pit and the Pendulum</em></a> (1961) and <em>The
Horrible Dr. Hichcock</em>. One of Steele's lesser films is 1965's <em>Nightmare Castle</em>, a visually sumptuous
entry that manages to hold interest despite a wildly silly plot.</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmare_castle_1965" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmare_castle_1965#commentsTheatrical releaseGhostsMad ScientistsOccultPsychologicalRevengeSupernaturalItalyShocktober Classics 2009: Staff ScreamsFri, 23 Oct 2009 09:22:48 +0000Kevin Nickelson1673 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nosferatu_phantom_der_nacht_1979
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-13890" style="width: 137px;"><a href="/reviews/nosferatu_phantom_der_nacht_1979"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/nosferatu_1979_poster.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Nosferatu 1979 poster" title="Nosferatu 1979 poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="137" height="210" /></a></div>
<p><a href="/reviews/nosferatu_1922"><em>Nosferatu</em></a>, F.W. Murnau's 1922 adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel <em>Dracula</em>, may be the finest of all vampire films; it's certainly one of the best horror films ever made. To even contemplate a remake of such a highly-regarded masterpiece would be thought of as pure folly. Writer/director Werner Herzog, never one to care what others think, mounted just such a remake in 1979. Filmed simultaneously in German and English, <em>Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht</em> (American title: <em>Nosferatu the Vampyre</em>) is Herzog's endeavor – not always a successful one -- to recreate and reinterpret Murnau's film, hewing closely to the original's plot and visuals while adding color, sound, and a more complex reading of the central vampire. <br /> </p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nosferatu_phantom_der_nacht_1979" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nosferatu_phantom_der_nacht_1979#commentsTheatrical releaseVampiresFranceWest GermanyFri, 17 Oct 2008 09:15:54 +0000Nate Yapp1641 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Night of the Werewolf (1981)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_werewolf_1981
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-13885" style="width: 152px;"><a href="/reviews/night_of_the_werewolf_1981"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/night_of_the_werewolf_poste.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Night of the Werewolf poster" title="Night of the Werewolf poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="152" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>Vampires versus werewolves is the horror equivalent of that eternal struggle between pirates and ninjas, only toothier and hairier. With<em> Night of the Werewolf</em> (original Spanish title: <em>El Retorno del Hombre-Lobo</em>), we have a film that doesn't bring much new to the genre in terms of plot. It's pretty standard fare, with no great twists or turns you couldn't see coming. The film is mostly a rehashing of ideas from a previous film that also features <a href="/masters/paul_naschy">Paul Naschy</a>,&nbsp;<em>La Noche de Walpurgis</em> (also known as <em>Werewolf Shadow</em>), though this is not uncommon for any of Naschy's werewolf films. Unlike the shabby remakes of today, this is actually an instance of refining old ideas into a better movie. The film is a product of its time, in both the good nostalgia of the vibrant cinema of the late seventies/early eighties, as well as the unfortunate gender portrayal trappings of that era.</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_werewolf_1981" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_werewolf_1981#commentsTheatrical releaseWaldemar DaninskySupernaturalVampiresWerewolvesSpainThu, 09 Oct 2008 04:27:36 +0000Timothy J. Rush8514 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Naked You Die (1968)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/naked_you_die_1968
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-13511" style="width: 107px;"><a href="/reviews/naked_you_die_1968"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/naked_you_die.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Naked You Die poster" title="Naked You Die poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="107" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>You know you’re in trouble when the film you’re reviewing opens with a song that’s heavily reminiscent of the “Batman” theme (campy 1966 version). Still, other horror films have overcome a ridiculous pop tune – <em><a href="/reviews/blob_1958">The Blob</a> </em>beat Burt Bacharach, didn’t it? Unfortunately, Antonio Margheriti’s <em>Naked You Die</em> resembles its theme song in more than a couple ways. It is a fairly disposable, imitative affair, packed with more goofy pep than seems appropriate for a “killer among us” film.</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/naked_you_die_1968" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/naked_you_die_1968#commentsTheatrical releasePsycho KillersItalySat, 27 Oct 2007 08:19:00 +0000Nate Yapp1017 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Nightmare (1981)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmare_1981
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-12226" style="width: 158px;"><a href="/reviews/nightmare_1981"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/nightmare1981.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Nightmare 1981 poster art" title="Nightmare 1981 poster art" class="image image-thumbnail " width="158" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>Romano Scavolini's <em>Nightmare</em> (better known under its UK title <em>Nightmare in a Damaged Brain</em>) has a history of controversy and censorship. The video was banned during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Nasty" target="_blank">"Video Nasty"</a> debacle in Great Britain and remained so until 2005. Additionally, Tom Savini, who is credited with the special effects, has publicly denied that he worked on the film, although there is some evidence to suggest he served as a consultant to effects artist Ed French. Further, the fact that <em>Nightmare</em> has had spotty availability on VHS and no availability on Region 1 DVD has lent the film an air of foreboding mystery. Don't let any preassigned notions about <em>Nightmare </em>deceive you.&nbsp; While it's a worthy film on several levels, it suffers from Scavolini trying too hard to give the typically juvenile slasher subgenre an adult sensibility.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmare_1981" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/nightmare_1981#commentsTheatrical releasePsycho KillersUSASat, 16 Jun 2007 09:00:25 +0000Nate Yapp1829 at http://classic-horror.comReview: Night of the Lepus (1972)http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_lepus_1972
<div class="image-attach-teaser image-attach-node-12531" style="width: 150px;"><a href="/reviews/night_of_the_lepus_1972"><img src="http://classic-horror.com/files/images/nightofthelepus-poster.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Night of the Lepus poster" title="Night of the Lepus poster" class="image image-thumbnail " width="150" height="210" /></a></div>
<p>Given the appropriate setting, many ordinary, innocuous things can be downright terrifying. Alfred Hitchcock's <a href="/reviews/birds_1963"><em>The Birds</em></a> is a wonderful example of what happens when ordinary sea fowl go very, very wrong, while Lewis Teague's <a href="/reviews/cujo_1983"><em>Cujo</em></a> insinuates that the cuddly family pet may not be as cuddly as previously thought. Some things, however, just aren't scary. Unfortunately for <em>Night of the Lepus</em>, fluffy bunnies are one of those things.</p><p><a href="http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_lepus_1972" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://classic-horror.com/reviews/night_of_the_lepus_1972#commentsTheatrical releaseGiant BeastsScience FictionSocial CommentaryUSAMon, 30 Apr 2007 07:00:00 +0000Julia Merriam325 at http://classic-horror.com